Anjou
by OclairaYT
Summary: An old drawing, something often overlooked, transports a sister and her brother to another dimension. One filled rivalry between one kingdom and a billion others, an insane turtle, a German turtle, and one big happy family. Oh, and don't forget that the brother and sister changed species entirely. What are the odds. (The title won't make sense for a while, just so you know.)
1. Chapter 1

So, you know how after school, you get to kick your feet up, grab a drink, and relax? That's not our house.

It's Wednesday. Which means I have the church program. Then Dad picks me up, and I have to sit at his rehearsal for his musical, while Mom's off doing something or other. And we sit there. For, like, hour 'n a half to two hours. Then Mom picks us up.

Yeah, it's fun.

Thankfully, we're allowed to bring stuff. But that's also kind of a pain. I'm currently carrying my iPad, with headphones, my sketchbook, the bag of CaliArt markers, and some drawings that I can show people, 'cause that's always fun.

Good thing experience has taught me how to hold all this stuff. Practice really does make perfect.

So, here I am, standing at the door. Well, more pacing through the kitchen and dog room, but who cares about specifics. My brother, Moss is being annoying and taking forever, as usual.

"Moss, we need you over here!" I shout.

"I'M COMING! YOU DON'T NEED TO SHOUT AT ME!" He screeches, running out of the bathroom, grabbing his iPad and headphones along the way. Oh, well nothing out of the ordinary.

We get in the car, Moss grumbling. I set my stuff down in the middle of the two backseats, and stare out the window, letting my imagination run wild. Figuratively and literally.

I pick up an oldish drawing of Billy the Parakoopa. Oh, those were the days back when I was into Mario. I vaguely remember what stories Moss and I had made up. We had even had our own characters, but I can't remember what they look like now.

The sun seems a little brighter, doesn't it? Must be a trick of the eyes. I poke Moss to get his attention, and show him the picture for probably the billionth time.

"Who's that?" He asks.

"Billy the Parakoopa. Remember?"

"Oh! Billy!" He exclaims. He grabs the picture, but as soon as he touches it, the sun turns blindingly bright. And then pitch black.

I frantically reach out, to see if Moss is still there. Feeling his headphones on his head, I breathe a sigh of relief.

Then he's not there. Instead, I feel a sort of mushroom-type thing in the place of him. But I don't let go.

I don't feel the same either. There's a giant thing on my back, I have my hair in a ponytail, and I overall don't feel like I'm the same person.

And then suddenly, I'm blinded by more light. I blink a few times, my eyes adjusting. We're by a tree. There's a mushroom thing with feet and eyes, wearing headphones next to me. In front of us, there's a turtle with wings, standing on two legs, eating a ham and cheese sandwich. He looks suspiciously like Billy.

"Olive, why don't I have hands?" The mushroom thing asks. Oh god, it can speak. I look down at my hands, which I thankfully have. The sad thing is that they are yellow and covered in scales.

Yellow scales. I reach around to my back, to feel a hard shell there. A turtle shell. And I noticed I have a tail.

This is not right.

"What in the absolute heck happened," I frantically say. I get up, pacing, trying to comprehend that I am no longer human.

"You look like a Koopa," the mushroom says.

"I don't even know you," I answer.

"I'm your brother, Moss."

"Oh."

Well, time to go on with our day. Let's skedaddle down to the freaky looking castle on that hill over there, and be on our way, not minding that we're fantasy characters.

I don't even know where I am.

Frick, brain, why do you have to bring up such weird dreams.

"If you were dreaming, you wouldn't be feeling anything. By the way, I must ask you, what are you doing here. You should be training." I didn't realize I said that out loud.

"What training?" Moss asks, confused. The turtle looks at us like we're stupid idiots.

"NRS training," he answers.

I look at him, still confused. "And what does that mean?"

"Newly Recruited Species. How old are you?"

Moss decides to answer for both of us, saying, "She's fourteen and I'm twelve." The turtle seems surprised.

"And where are you from?"

I answer this time. "We're from Russellville, Arkansas."

"What kingdom's that in?"

"Kingdom?" I ask.

"Y'know, with a king and queen?"

"The United States doesn't have that. We have a president that we elect every four years," I say. Now it's the turtle's turn to be confused.

I sigh, and say, "I'll explain later."

"So, wait. Do you guys know what species you are?" We both shake our heads. I can't even see myself. Maybe if you passed a mirror.

He points to Moss, and then me, saying what we are. Apparently, Moss is a Goomba, and I'm a Koopa. Well, that's all fine and dandy.

I'm totally not freaking out.

"I'll give you a tour of the castle," the turtle says, adding, "By the way, my name's Billy. Billy the Parakoopa." Oh, like my character! I don't like the sound of this.


	2. Chapter 2

The tour was quite boring, to be honest. I didn't meet anyone, and there wasn't anything really exciting, other than lava being everywhere, everything being grey, and the decorations being really crappy.

"What do you like to do." Billy asks.

"Video games," is Moss's answer. Billy's eyes light up.

"Olive, what about you?" He asks me.

"Writing and drawing. With music." Billy's eyes light up even more.

"I have some rooms that you two would like." Oh, this is gonna be fun. Wonder where he's gonna take us.

He drops Moss off at some room off some hallway. Don't ask me for specifics. I don't remember them.

After winding through seemingly endless hallways, Billy finally drops me off in front of a room. I don't know which room, but it's a room.

"Go on," Billy says, urging my in. I slowly open the door, to see a small area. It looks even smaller, though, because there are so many papers everywhere, and so many ink stains. There's one piano in the room, with another turtle playing it. What were they… oh right, we're called Koopas. He has royal blue hair. It looks really fluffy.

His playing is gosh dang amazing, if you ask me. The music flows freely, like a running river. I wonder what song he's playing.

The song slows down to a finish, and I'm just standing there in awe. I regain my composure, just as he notices me.

"Vat do you vant?" He asks, annoyed, in a thick German accent. Placing some of the papers on the piano off to the side, he walks over to me. He crosses his arms, staring at me.

"Um, Billy brought me here," I squeak.

"Do you know vhy he brought you here?" The Koopa asks. I slowly shake my head, trying to keep myself looking at his face. He just looks even more annoyed now, but not at me, at Billy.

"Do you efen know vho am?" He asks. I slowly shake my head no again, confused.

His annoyed expression drops, replaced by curiosity, as he asks, "Howv old are you?"

I quietly answer, "I'm fourteen." The Koopa looks surprised, before turning into a warm smile.

"Haf you met zee ozzers?" He softly asks.

"What others," I ask.

"So you hafen't. I'll introduce zee rest of zee Koopalinks to you later," he concludes. "I'm Ludvig Von Koopa. And vho are you?"

"I'm Olive Clair," I answer shyly.

"Very nice meetink you, Olive," Ludwig says, slightly bowing. I let out a little giggle.

"So, you are from ze Darklands, if I am not mistaken?" He asks. Oh, here we go again, having to explain that I sorta just popped in here.

"No, I'm not from the Darklands, or any of the kingdoms," I say, wringing my hands. Ludwig just looks confused.

"Zere are only kingdoms here, nozzink else," he says. I suck in a breath harshly, trying to think of a way to explain this.

"I'm not from here. I live in Russellville, Arkansas, in the United States. We don't have a king or a queen, we all vote on who gets to be president, out of a bunch of candidates," I explain, looking at him to see if he understands. He doesn't. He just looks even more confused.

"Vhat planet are you from?" He asks.

"Earth." He stares at me incredulously.

"But zis is Earth?!"

I start fidgeting, saying, "Ah, well, I sorta popped in here when I was showing my brother some old Billy drawing of mine." Ludwig looks at me like he understands.

"Remind me to talk wis Kamek later," he says. "By ze vay, vho is your brozzer?"

"Um, my brother is Moss Eshelman. He's two years younger than me. I think he's a… goomba now." Ludwig nods slowly, thinking.

"Is it alright if I introduce you to my brozzers and sisters?" He asks. I nod. He stands up, and looking at me for conformation, he grabs my hand.

He walks me through mazes of hallways, and up a freaking giagantic staircase, up to a big set of bright red double doors. He knocks three times before stepping back.

Fitting to the doors, a huge Koopa opens up the door, looking exhausted and annoyed.

"Please don't tell me one of the others did somethin'," he grumbles, rubbing his face.

Ludwig pushes me in front of him, and says, "Zere's a new recruit." The giant Koopa just gets even more annoyed.

"Why is this important?"

"Olive's different."

"And how so?"

"Dad, can you let her at least meet ze rest of zem?" Ludwig begs. I look at him confused. This guy's Ludwig's dad? 'Kay then?

"Wait, you don't know who we are?!" Ludwig's dad exclaims, laughing. I look away embarrassed.

"You didn't answer my qvestion," Ludwig says, irritation creeping in his voice.

His dad laughs, and says, "So, welcome! I'm Bowser! The Bowser, king of the Koopa!" He notices Ludwig glaring at him, so he adds, "And yes, she can go meet the others."

"C'mon," Ludwig says, almost literally dragging me through the door, revealing a giant throne room. Seven other children, and my brother, are all playing with each other. My brother is, specifically, playing with a little kid who looks like a little, cute, less-intimidating version of Bowser.

"So, did ja' finally pick yerself up a girl?" Someone says. Ludwig audibly groans.

"No, Roy. She's a new recruit," Ludwig says.

A pink Koopa, with ridiculous pink sunglasses steps in front of me.

"Can she talk?" He asks, stooping down to my height.

I back away, and stammer, "Y-yes I can talk." Roy laughs, standing back up straight.

Using my head as an armrest, he asks, "So, Ludwig, what's the sweetheart's name?"

"My name's Olive," I say, pushing his arm off my head.

"Does she happen to know anything about Moss over there?" A green-shelled dude with glasses and pineapple hair says, pointing to my brother.

"Wait, it's another girl?" Asks a bald Koopa with a giant pink and white polka-dotted bow.

"What's she like?" A brown Koopa with a star mark asks.

"Does she like the circus?' Asks another Koopa on a ball.

"Any sports?" Yet another Koopa, on with a blue Mohawk, asks.

Even the little mini Bowser pipes up. "Ooh, ooh, does she like drawing?"

"Calm down, calm down, eferyone calm down, she's only wun person!' Ludwig says frantically.

"And when were you in charge?" The Koopa with the pink bow calls.

"I'm not tellink you vhat to do! Nobody can handle that many qvestions at vun time!" Ludwig shouts.

"Oh really?" The other one says, sticking her tongue out. Ludwig jumps on top of her, and soon there's a full out fight.

I slowly back away to the corner, and just sit there, trying to ignore the pandemonium around me.

Looking next to me, I jump. The guy with the pineapple hair's there.

"Hi! I'm Iggy!" He says, extending a hand. I hesitantly take it. He holds on to it, for a moment, before jerking me forward into a hug.

"You're the other one who ended up in another dimension and doesn't know how the heck you got there aren't you?" Iggy asks all on one breath, talking so fast that I barely caught anything he was saying. It didn't help that he was breathing on my ear, and I have never been this close to someone other than my family.

"Y-yeah, I'm the o-other- yeah," I stutter out. Iggy shifts, nuzzling my neck. I freeze. What the heck is he doing.

He suddenly pulls away, staring at me for a moment, a mischievous smirk on his face.

Replacing the smirk with an innocent smile, he says, "Why are you blushing? It was only a hug?" I inwardly groan, hiding my face.

"I think we all know that it was more than that," Roy says. I look up, to see him standing over us, his arms crossed.

"Hey Wendy, Ludwig, Morton! Guess what Iggy did!" Roy calls out. Ludwig, along with the bow girl, and the star mark boy.

"Roy, don't you dare!" Iggy shouts. Roy puts up his middle, ring, and pinkie finger, and brings it across his face. Iggy runs at him, jumping on him, grabbing his arms, but not before everyone saw it.

Wendy starts laughing, Morton looks mortified, and Ludwig just groans. And me? Well, I'm sitting over here, confused. What the frick does the hand motion mean, and why does it mean such a big thing.

I send a confused look to Ludwig. He walks over, whispering in my ear, "Zat's just a less obvious symbol for…" He makes an okay symbol, and thrusts a finger through the hole, hiding it from the view of the room.

Oh, that.

That makes more sense now.

Man, they're really immature.

"Hi, Olive! I'm Morton! We haven't met any of the new recruits ever, since no one ever brings us the soldiers until they've earned a place in the ranks," the star mark boy rambles, pushing Ludwig away. Ludwig glares at him, getting up, dusting himself and fixing his hair.

I feel some little Koopa climb on my back, on my head.

Dropping down through a backflip onto a ball, the little one says, "I'm Lemmy!" Well, I've got to say, that was impressive.

"I'm BJ," the mini Bowser says, and then points to the blue mohawk guy. "And he's Larry." Larry waves from the other side of the room.

BJ looks up to me, and asks, "Can I call you sis?"

"Sure?" I shrug.

"Thanks, sis!" He says excitedly.

A crash, followed by the sound of a roar and the fwoosh of shooting fire comes from behind me. I cautiously turn around, to see an enraged Bowser.

He stares at me, and it takes all of my strength to keep looking at him.

His gaze moves over to Iggy, and it's even worse on him. Iggy's face is one of pure terror, his face white and entire body shaking. Seeing this makes the fear in me grow.

"IGGY! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" Bowser roars, his face just a foot away from Iggy's. Iggy stammers, trying to find something to say.

"I-It was literally just a hug!" I shout at Bowser. His attention turns to me, and I almost buckle right there. But I hold on.

"Really," Bowser snorts.

"Yes, it was just. A. Freaking. Hug," I say, glaring at him. It's the only thing that wouldn't make a fool of myself.

He looks like he's going to fight me, and just stares at me like that for a minute, before giving in.

"'Kay, we'll just let it go for now," he grumbles. I huff at him, before running over to check if Iggy's okay. He doesn't say anything. He just looks at me dumbfounded. He eventually just mutters something that I can't hear, and walks off.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few days, I got to know the family better.

Bowser's can really be a softie. He's just nearly always grumpy because he's way too overworked and doesn't realize what it's doing to him. Larry's big into sports, especially tennis and soccer. He flipped when I told him I've been playing soccer since pre-school. Morton loves talking, volleyball, and bullet bills. I learned the hard way what happens when you mention either volleyball or bullet bills. He was talking for three hours straight. Wendy… I refuse to be near Wendy. She's just bratty. Maybe if she didn't care so much about just herself, I might be friends with her. Roy, for the guy he is, is still better than Wendy. Sure, he can get annoying sometimes, especially the time he tried to lock Iggy and I in a room together, but overall, he's okay. Lemmy's a fine dude too. He's obsessed with the circus, and can do nearly every act in it. The only thing he can't do is the one we all know how to do. It's walk on two legs without a ball. He's still working on that one. BJ, I learned, stands for Bowser Junior, but they call all call him that, except for Bowser. Bowser calls him Junior. BJ loves drawing, painting, just any type of art.

And then there's Iggy and Ludwig. Oh, I don't know how to describe how I feel about these two.

Iggy's a mad scientist taken to a whole new level. He's really mentally unstable, and can go from really hyper to super depressed in the time it takes you to blink. He also gets really into his experiments, so into them that I usually have to beg him to eat, or sleep, or do anything that a living thing needs to do to survive.

And Ludwig's the classical composer. It often feels like he's stuck in a whole 'nother time period. He never knows what's going on on the media. But he's really sweet and a classical gentleman. I can't count how many different symphonies he's dedicated to different people, but I bet he'd know. He said he's composing one for me right now, even.

I meet a few new people in these past few days, too. Kamek the magikoopa, Bowser's childhood caretaker, who now helps take care of these children. Cookoopa, the chef in the kitchen. Stammers, the general of the goomba troop, and my brother's boss.

It's been hectic.

"Olive!" Roy, shouts right next to my ear. I jump, startled. Realizing it was just him, I elbow him. He just laughs.

"Kamek wants ta' talk to all of us," Roy says, gesturing over to Kamek floating over the front of the long dining table on his broom.

"So we've decided," he begins. "That Olive and Moss will be doing the private lessons like you guys have."

"Olive will be with Iggy, and Moss will be with Wendy, until we get someone else. This is all purely because of their ages, nothing else," he says, in a serious tone, staring at Roy as he says this. Roy just snickers, and stares at me.

"Break's over, and we're starting again. Ludwig, since you're the oldest, you're gonna help Olive get settled in. I'll help Moss get situated," Kamek explains, gesturing to Ludwig, who's sitting with his arms crossed, staring off into space. But apparently this isn't a problem, 'cause Kamek seems to think this.

Kamek starts flying away, shouting over his shoulder, "You should be there at 8:00 today, as usual!" Well, frick, I have to go to school here too.

It's not actually that school part that I'm worried about. It's the fact that I'm stuck with Iggy. I'm scared about what the others will think goes on in there. I've already seen what the slightest things seem to them.

I thank the Cookoopa as he hands me my breakfast, earning a weird glance from Roy, and say a silent prayer out of instinct, before eating. I finish quite fast, actually, mainly because of the fact that I'm worrying. Eating is one of the few things that comforts me.

Getting up, I put the dishes in the sink, getting even more weird glances. I walk to my room, quickly getting ready, before heading to the door.

Ludwig stands there, leaning against the wall, writing on a piece of paper, which is probably something he's composing. He looks up, hearing my footsteps.

"So, you are goink to be wis Iggy downstairs, around vhere zee labs are," Ludwig says, leading me towards wherever this place is, 'cause his explanation didn't help.

My nerves flare up suddenly, and I start internally freaking out. So what do I do? I start singing.

Under my breath, I start with La Da Dee, by Cody SImpson. It does help considerably, distracting me from what I'm doing. It's always helped.

The classroom-place was apparently not that far from where we were. By the end of La Da Dee, we were there.

Inside is a sort of science-y looking place. It looks like the middle school science labs. The ones that are the classroom and the lab at the same time. An older looking Koopa, with crazed grey hair, is mixing some different chemicals. It doesn't look too safe.

Smoke comes billowing out, and he covers the little hole with a cork, not allowing any more to escape. That's when he finally notices I'm in the room.

"You must be Olive, are you not?" He asks, giving a warm, understanding smile. It calms me a bit.

"Yeah, I'm Olive," I say, smiling shyly.

"Well, I'm Charles Vanin. You can call me Charles, if you want to," he says. "Or you can call me Mr. Vanin."

"I think I'm gonna stick with Mr. Vanin," I say quietly. He chuckles, patting me on the back.

"G'morning Mr. Vanin," I hear Iggy say, as he wanders in. He sits down at a random desk in the front row.

Mr. Vanin grabs a binder, some papers, and three laptops, and sits down next to Iggy. Patting the seat next to him, he gestures for me to sit down.

And so schools begins. Math's first, and neither of us have any trouble with it. Then comes history. Iggy seems to not care about history at all, and barely pays attention.

And know, right before lunch, we have a weird free period, where we get to do anything we want, as long as it doesn't hurt anything or anyone.

Iggy spends this time inventing, as he's grabbed his journal and a pencil, and has started messing with tools, materials, and a multitude of different chemicals that a fourteen-year-old is probably not even allowed to get within three feet of.

I use this time to draw. I had told Mr. Vanin during a sidetrack, that I loved to write and draw, and especially loved to do it with music playing, and he had said that I was allowed to play music from the laptop during this time. Being me, I grab a pair of headphones, so I won't disturb anyone.

Running out of ideas to draw, I just draw Mr. Vanin and Iggy, in what it probably had been like before I came into the picture. Glancing up sometimes, using them as references, I get the drawing down. Now I just need a really thin sharpie to outline it, and if I can find some actually good markers or colored pencils, I could color this…

Someone hugs me from behind. He comes and stands next to me, his arm still around my waist. It's Iggy.

"Can I see what 'cha doing?" He asks, sitting in the chair next to me. I move my arms, letting him see. He doesn't say anything, and just stares at it for a while. Okay, we get it, you don't like, don't rub it in.

"How?" He says astonished. I stare at him, surprised. He stares at it a while longer, unable to form words.

"It's amazing," he breathes.

I smile and offer, "I can give it to you when I finish it."

"No, you keep it," he insists quickly. I nod.

Something changes in his eyes, and he looks scared and frantic. He starts wrapping an arm around me, but stops for suddenly, and asks, "Can I hug you?"

"Yeah, you can," I answer. He continues, pulling me towards him. When he can't get me any closer, he picks me up, and puts me in his lap, hugging me.

I rest my head on him, as it's the most comfortable position. His heart's beating at an unnatural beat, and he's breathing really heavily. He starts muttering to himself, saying that he'll be alright, and that there is nothing to worry about. This isn't right. Is he okay?

"Are you alright?" I whisper frantically. I'm worried about him. Does he have some sort of, like, problem? Is it a heart attack or something?!

"I was having a panic attack," Iggy mumbles in my hair. "Touch calms me down the best."

"You good now, right?" I ask, worried. He nods, pulling away. Setting me back in my seat, he grabs his stuff that he was working on, and moves it next to me. It's a little mechanic that I don't understand.

He picks it up, places a little piece of metal covering up the wires, and places it in a small cushioned box. He picks up another box, messes with the contents for a moment, before taking off his glasses, and adding the little machine into the rim.

I don't know if he saw me, but if he did, he didn't say anything, and told me nothing about what he was doing.

Lunch came next, and it was just like any other time I'd eaten here. Roy threw something or other at someone, Wendy was bratty, y'know, just the usual.

We basically all have a mutual agreement on where everyone sits. Everyone sits next to each other, with four on each side, plus Moss and I, so five one each side. Moss and I sit at the farthest we can while still being right next to someone. So, like the middle of the table. I sit next to Morton, and Moss sits next to Lemmy.

"How's school been?" Morton asks me, a sandwich in hand.

I shrug, answering, "It's been alright." Morton nods.

"Roy said he walked in on you guys hugging and stuff." Morton asks, turning himself towards me. "I just want to know why you guys would start doing that now." He leans his head on his hand, staring at me, expecting an answer.

"He was having a panic attack, okay! He said touch calms him the most!" I say, utterly repulsed at the idea that they would even think that I would go that direction so quickly. Morton looks at me, surprised.

"He had a panic attack? Ya' sure?" He asks, eyebrows raised. I glare at him for not believing me. For goodness sakes, I can tell when something's wrong!

"He was breathing heavily and he was literally talking himself, trying to calm himself down!" I say angrily. Letting out an exasperated sigh, I rest my face in my hand.

Someone starts breathing heavily. It literally sounds like someone in a room that has no oxygen trying to gasp for it. Muttering follows, talking to themselves.

Iggy puts his hands behind his head, trying to open up his chest. He's having another panic attack. He's having. Another. Panic attack.

He stands up, and starts pacing, trying to stay away from everyone. No one seems to think this is a problem at first, until Iggy starts audibly talking. Talking as loud as a teacher does in a normal classroom.

Iggy starts looking visibly panicked, almost to the point of pure terror. He then literally climbs over the table, standing next to me, and he hugs me.

And we just stand there in an embrace.

"Shh, you're gonna be alright," I whisper, listening to his breathing slow down. "There's nothing to worry about. Nobody's going to hurt you. You're not crazy. We all care about you. We love you." He holds me for a moment longer, before stepping away, a tear rolling down his cheek.

He wipes it away, before saying quietly, "Thank you." He them walks away, taking my brother's, his, and my dishes to the kitchen.

When we continue school, doing good ole' ELA. Iggy seems to struggle with this, and Mr. Vanin goes easy on him, but as soon as he learned that I was a whiz in it, he handed me some harder stuff for me to work on. We then did Phys. Ed., which neither of us were enthusiastic about. The only kinda good thing about it is that we all do it at the same time. Everyone also does art at the same time, where Iggy made me show the unfinished drawing of Mr. Vanin and him. By unfinished, I mean it was all sketched and outlined, but I want to color it. Everyone thought it was amazing, however. We ended on science. Mr. Vanin basically did two separate classes for us. He had Iggy go off and do some really complicated chemistry-aerospace-engineering-type thing, and he taught me a separate lesson. He said that he might just have Iggy teach me, since he basically knows more than the teacher.

At the end of class, Ludwig was there to pick me up, since I still don't know my way around this bloody complicated place. We walked back in silence, dropping off to get ready to eat, and then get a good night's sleep.


End file.
